History

Walter Busschop designs a filing trolley on wheels. He invests the income from sales in the launch of his own office furniture company. The name? Bulo

1970

A remarkable marketing campaign, in which people are offered a free ‘Bulo’ paint job on their vehicles. In this way the brand dominates the Belgian roads with iconic black cars for years.

1980

Bulo offers a complete, all-inclusive office look: from its desks and chairs to curtains, lighting and plants.

1987

In the course of twenty years, Bulo has become synonymous with high-quality office furniture. The company prepares for international growth and in 1987 brings its various departments together at a new head office on the Northern industrial estate along the E19 motorway connecting Brussels and Antwerp.

1994

The Antwerp interior designers Claire Bataille and Paul ibens are commissioned to design their concept of the desk. Their answer is the H2O, a return to the archetype of the universal table.

1996

Launch of the Carte Blanche series, in which architects and designers from outside the company show their idea of the ideal work-table. They include Ann Demeulemeester, bOb Van Reeth, Annabelle d’Huart, Jean Nouvel and Edouard François. The M2 desk was also launched this year, designed by Luc Vincent and BuloDesigners.

1997

Bulo opens its first showroom abroad. Its unique location at Butler’s Wharf in London, right next to the Design Museum, underlines Bulo’s commitment to good design.

1998

Bulo expands: A second foreign showroom opens in Cologne. Followed later by Amsterdam and New York.

1998

Launch of Pub & Club, Bulo’s answer to the austere office chair, which adds a warm and loungey touch to the often uniform and technocratic working environment. Designed by Luc Vincent & BuloDesigners.

The Tab Chair by the Brussels architect and designer Alain Berteau is launched at Interieur in Kortrijk. A new look at the office chair and above all at a way of sitting.

2006

Desk & Chair by the Belgian architect Vincent Van Duysen is introduced at Interieur in Kortrijk.

2008

The new KEI desk concept, inspired by the organic form of a pebble, is presented at Interieur in Kortrijk and Orgatec in Cologne. This surprising concept immediately wins several international prizes: the 2009 IF Design Award and the Designpreis Deutschland Silver Award.

Launch of Overdose by Bram Boo, the Belgian Designer of the Year in 2010. A new creation in Bulo’s Carte Blanche collection: "The Overdose desk is a workspace inspired by my own untidiness and by the concept of ‘creating order by disorder’".

2012

The Z Table by Bataille and ibens is on the shortlist for and wins the 2013 Wallpaper* Best Product Design Award. Jos Devriendt’s Hilde table and BuloDesigners’ grID furniture system are shown at Interieur in Kortrijk.

2013

On the occasion of its 50th anniversary, Bulo launches O Mr. President, a desk for the entrepreneur of the future. It is an ode to play, a unique and durable piece of furniture that can be fully personalised. In the course of the year the Bulo showroom is the perfect meeting place for architects, designers and businesspeople, who can enjoy a whole range of events there. The next 50 start now.

2014

The launch of the DAN collection: a modular and flexible wooden desk collection that breaks completely with the classic office culture. This draft is perfect for co-working solutions, a real trendsetter.

2015

Carlo Busschop becomes chief executive for export and assures, as (the first of) the third generation within the company, the future of Bulo.

2016

Bulo signs a contract with the family of Belgian architect and modernist Léon Stynen, for the reissue of his timeless chair “SL 58”. The chair is launched on Maison & Objet in Paris, Singapore and Miami.